Fire and Ice
by TR16
Summary: A month has gone by since Sozin's Comet returned and Aang defeated Ozai. Aang and Katara are together but Katara is facing feelings for another person: Zuko. And now, when Azula escapes from prison, those feelings will be revealed. .:Zutara:. ON HIATUS.
1. The Painting

**A/N: Hey everybody. As soon as I watched the Avatar movie Sozin's Comet I was instantly in love with it. It was one of the greatest things I have ever seen…except for the Kataang and Maiko ending. Zuko does not belong with Mai and Katara does not belong with Aang. So this is a Zutara story about after all of that happened. It is in Katara's POV the whole way through and I hope you enjoy it.**

**_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar. Trust me, if I did Zuko and Katara would most definately be together!_**

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Chapter One

I know I'm supposed to love him and be all over him. That's what everybody thinks. But I don't know if it's right. I'm not sure if it's really supposed to be this way. I do love him, but not in the way everybody thinks I do. I know I kissed him after he had defeated the Fire Lord a month ago, but I'm not even sure why I did any more. I guess I figured that he had deserved it? Something like that, but ever since I guess we've been together. And it's been great, but I don't feel like he's the right one I should be with. It feels like there should be another, different boy. But I'm not sure who just yet…

"Hey Katara, come here!" I turned around and saw my older brother waving at me, with Aang at his side. I cocked an eyebrow but walked over to the two boys.

"What is it now, Sokka?" I asked when I reached them. I had entered the Jasmine Dragon from the outside balcony between the two flights of stairs leading up to the propped open front doors. I looked to my right and saw Zuko, Mai, Suki, Iroh, and Toph were all frozen in posed positions all around the right side of the room. Zuko was serving a cup of tea to a table with no people; Mai was merely standing against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest; Suki stood with her arm up like she was holding a cup in it and she had a smile on her face like she was laughing; Iroh was pouring tea into an empty cup on a small tray he was holding in his hand like a waiter does in a fancy restaurant; and Toph was standing in front of Suki with the same pose as her like they were talking and laughing together.

"What is this all about?" I questioned looking at everyone posed perfectly.

"Sokka is making us pose for a stupid painting," Zuko muttered without moving his body. I turned my head towards Sokka.

"Why?" I merely said.

"Remember back right after Aang defeated Ozai and we were all here just like we are now?"

"Yeah…"

"And remember how I was trying to paint a picture of everyone and it turned out horrible?"

"Again, yeah…"

"Well this time I hired a professional painter to draw the picture. So I'm gonna' have everyone pose for the picture. You're over in that chair over the there." He pointed at the empty chair at the table that Zuko was serving a cup of tea to. "You're gonna' be receiving your cup of tea from Zuko."

"How exciting," I said emotionlessly. "I can't believe you got everyone to do this."

"Well, you know me. That's just how I roll." I looked over at him as he closed his eyes and a wide smirk played across his lips. His hands landed on his hips in a triumphant pose.

"Sure it is," I said, my own smirk spreading across my face. I then walked over to the empty chair and placed my right arm on top of my left arm on the wooden table top. I looked into Zuko's gold eyes like I would look into any waiter's eyes as they served me my order. He stared straight back into my blue ones through his long, matted black hair. I put on a smile to make the scene look more life-like, and I saw him also curl his lips into a small smile.

"Perfect!" I heard Sokka yell. He walked over to us and smiled widely. "You too look perfect together like this. Very life-like. Good job." Then I saw him out of the corner of my eye walk over to Mai and adjust her crossed arms very slightly. Then he walked out of my view and I couldn't look at him since I didn't want to ruin my pose. I also didn't want to look away from Zuko's warm gaze.

Sokka walked back into my view, pushing Aang in front of him. He pointed to the ground and Aang lied down on his back. Sokka walked out of my view yet again and came back in a second later with Momo in his arms. He walked over to Aang and gave the pet lying lemur to Aang who outstretched his arms above him as far as they would go, as was Sokka's instruction. Aang put on a smile that I could barely see and Sokka gave him a thumbs up then walked away.

"Ok everybody, you all look great!" I heard him tell us. "Now you all need to just stay like this until the painter is done."

"What about you?" I heard Aang ask from the ground.

"I'll be posed too, don't worry," Sokka answered.

"What if we have to go to the bathroom?" Mai questioned. There was silence before I heard my brother answer.

"Hold it," he replied.

"What if we can't?"

"Oh well! Stop asking questions!" I didn't see him but I knew he had gone to pose. I couldn't see his pose so I had to wait until the painting was finished, which didn't really bother me. I wasn't that interested in seeing my brother pose.

He blinked. That was the first time I had noticed him blink ever since I had sat down and posed with him. I don't know why it was so important but it was. It had been almost five minutes since we began our little staring contest and he hadn't blinked one time until now. I still hadn't blinked. I wondered if he noticed that as much I'd noticed his first blink.

"Ok, you can start painting!" I heard my brother say, probably to the painter sitting at the long table on the other side of the room. And so we all just sat there, motionless and soundless. The silence eventually got to me, and I heard an annoying little ringing sound in my ears. And it stayed there for a long time.

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"Alright, I'm done," the painter announced. I heard grateful sighs all throughout the room and I finally relaxed my aching jaw muscles from that horrid smile I had to keep on my face for three hours straight. I reached my hand up and massaged my jaw as I stood up. Zuko took the cup of tea he was holding and drank it as he backed away from the table. He walked back behind the counter and into the "Employees Only" area. I walked over to Aang and saw that he was still on the ground and his arms were stretched out to the sides of him. He was breathing hard.

"By the sound of your breathing it sounds like you just ran a marathon," I told him, smiling. He didn't smile back.

"Do you know how hard it is to keep your arms up like this" –he held up his arms like he had posed them for the painting- "for three hours straight? While holding a lemur that weighs, what, a lot!" He brought his arms back down and closed his eyes. I leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips, even though I didn't want to. When the kiss ended I stood back up and helped him onto his feet.

"At least you got to lie on the ground," I said to him. "Sitting in that chair for three hours really wasn't all that comfortable."

"I'd have switched with you any day," he replied. I smiled and we walked over to the painter's table to see the painting.

It was wonderful. Everyone looked beautiful and just as they had looked all posed. I searched the piece of paper until my eyes rested on Zuko and I at our small little table, him serving me tea with a smile on his face, and me returning the smile. We looked amazing. Sokka had been right; we did look perfect together like that. I smiled and then walked away from the picture, allowing an open space for someone else. I went over to the very table that Zuko and I had posed at and sat down in my chair. It was a minute later that Zuko pulled a chair up beside me.

"So, how's the painting look?" He asked.

"Didn't you go and look at it?" I questioned.

"No. I was doing something else."

"Oh." I wanted to tell him that it was beautiful, and that we looked perfect and amazing. But I didn't have the guts, and I don't know why. So I settled for a plain old answer that anyone would give.

"It looks fine, I guess," I told him.

"Good. Because if it looked bad and Sokka threw it away, I would die."

"Me too, probably," I agreed. He looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back and felt something warm and powerful wash over me. Zuko stood up and stretched his arms above his head.

"I guess I'll go see for myself now," he stated. I just nodded and watched him walk over to the group surrounding the table. I watched him put his arm around Mai's shoulders and my eyes saddened. That was when I realized that I was in love Fire Lord Zuko.

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**I really hope you liked the chapter and I'll update as soon as I can. Reviews are very much appreciated. Thanks!**

**-Taylor**


	2. The Breakup

**Chapter Two**

I watched Iroh hang the painting up on the wall on the right side of the front doors. I smiled as he tacked the picture up and walked away. As soon as he was gone Sokka stepped up to it and admired it again, alone this time. I decided to give him some company so I stood up from my chair and walked over to him and the painting.

"It wasn't that bad of an idea, I guess," I said, walking up beside him.

"When are my ideas ever not bad?" He replied. There was a silence between us for a few seconds. "Don't answer that," Sokka finally said, breaking the silence between us. I giggled quietly. But then I heard my name being said behind me.

"Katara." I turned around and saw Zuko standing behind us. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Uh…yeah?" I said.

"Can I talk to you?" He looked over at Sokka. "Privately." My brother and I shared a short glance, but I looked back over at the young Fire Lord.

"Um, sure." I walked outside onto the balcony again, but this time with Zuko at my side. I leaned forward and crossed my arms on the balcony's banister. I looked out at the setting sun, the pink and orange sky.

"So, why do you need to talk to me?" I asked him. He also leaned forward onto the banister and stared out at the sunset.

"I don't feel that Mai and I are…working out." My spirits instantly rose and we turned to look at each other. We both still leaned against the banister, one arm on it, the other at our side.

"But I just saw you put your arm around her shoulders earlier, and then you two kissed a little bit ago, and you two have hugged, like, five times in the last three minutes."

"I know, I know. And actually she was the one that kissed me and hugged me all those times."

"And then she took your arm and put it around her shoulders?" I said sarcastically.

"No. I did that."

"Why do you think it's not working out for you two?"

"I don't know. I just don't feel like she's…the one, you know? Like you and Aang seem happy together, perfect." I looked to the ground and I'm not sure if he noticed or not.

"Yeah…perfect," I muttered. I guess he did notice, since he leaned down to look up into my eyes.

"What's wrong with you and Aang?" He asked. I looked back up, and he stood back up straight.

"Nothing, nothing. So, why are you telling me about you and Mai?"

"Well, because, I thought you could tell me how to…end it."

"You want to break up with her? Why?" I was eternally happy, but I couldn't show that.

"I already told you. I don't think she's the right one for me. Will you please just help me out here?" My eyes scanned over his body. His green Earth Kingdom robe and his long, ruffled black hair.

"Ok. But what exactly do you want? Me to break up with her for you? Or me to tell you how to break up with her and then you do it yourself?"

"The first one." I celebrated on the inside of me without letting it show on the outside.

"Ok. What do you exactly want me to say to her?"

"I still want to be friends with her, make sure to let her know that. And then tell her the news veeeery gently," he instructed. I nodded and smiled.

"Want me to do it right now?"

"That would be best. I'll stay out here. After you're done, please come and tell me how it went."

"It will be my pleasure." I turned away from him and walked back inside. I saw Mai talking to Sokka and Aang over in the far corner. Finally, Zuko would be single and available. But I wouldn't be. I would have to think about that later. I walked over to the group of three.

"Hey guys," I said. They all looked at me.

"Oh, hey," Mai said, totally emotionless.

"What's up, Katara?" Aang asked. I looked at Mai.

"I need to talk to Mai for a sec, if you don't mind." Mai looked at me suspiciously, but shrugged her shoulders and followed me to a different corner.

"Soooooo, what do you want?" She asked me. My eyes narrowed at her tone.

"It's about…your boyfriend," I told her. She immediately became more attentive to our conversation.

"What about him?" She asked,

"First off, he says that he still wants to be friends. But-"

"I can't believe he's breaking up with me."

"Uh, how did you know that?"

"It's kind of obvious. 'He still wants to be friends.' That's kind of the sign of a boy breaking up with a girl."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry, but yeah. That's what I needed to talk to you about."

"Even after I told him to never break up with me again," I heard her mutter under her breath.

"What was that?" I said, even though I knew what she said.

"Nothing. Tell him…"

"That you hate him? I totally understand." I started to walk away from her but she placed her hands on my shoulders and pulled me back.

"No. Tell him I understand. Tell him that I'm mad but that I understand." I sighed.

"Ok, I'll be sure to let him know." She released my shoulders and I walked to the front doors. As he had told me earlier, Zuko was standing at the banister, looking at the sky.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked when I walked up beside him.

"She says that she's mad but she understands. You're officially broken up but are still friends." I herd him release a huge sigh.

"Thanks Katara."

"Um, your welcome?" I still had to act like I didn't care. And before anything else happened, he hugged me. Zuko hugged me. I know I've hugged him before and he hugged me back, but that's not even close to the same thing of him hugging me. That same warm feeling I got earlier when we smiled at each other came back. I wrapped my arms around him as well and closed my eyes. A few seconds later was when, unfortunately, our hug ended.

"I have no idea why I feel so happy, but I do," he said. "Shouldn't I feel horrible?"

"Um, I don't know. That's your choice I guess."

"Yeah, I guess it is. Thanks again, Katara." And at that, he turned away and walked back inside, leaving me alone out on the balcony. But I was happy. I turned back towards the setting sun and leaned forward against the banister. Nothing could make this moment worse.

"It looks beautiful." His voice startled me. I turned around and faced him. "Just like you." The young avatar walked up to me and took my hands in his. I smiled and tried to act happy, but it was harder than I thought it could be.

"Zuko broke up with Mai," I told him. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Really? Why?"

"He didn't feel like she was…the one. You know?"

"Sure I know. But that's not gonna' happen to me and you. Because I know you're the one for me." He leaned forward with his eyes closed and his lips puckered. I knew what he was expecting me to do. So I leaned forward and gently kissed his puckered lips. When the kiss ended I escaped from his hands and smiled.

"I'm going to go inside," I said.

"Why?" He asked.

"I'm just…a little cold, that's all. I'll talk to you later." I gave him a small kiss on his cheek, then I walked around him and into the Jasmine Dragon.

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**Well, there's another chapter for you. I hope you enjoyed it! Review please!**

**-Taylor**


	3. The News

**Chapter Three**

I brought the small cup up to my mouth and let the warm tea slip through my lips. I felt the hot liquid trickle down my throat. I lowered the cup away from my lips and placed it back on the small wooden table I was sitting at. I'm not usually a huge fan of tea, I mean it's good and I enjoy it but it's not amazing, but right now it tasted heavenly because Zuko and Mai had finally broken up! I felt even better as the Fire Lord himself walked up right beside me.

"Momo seemed to have taken Aang's necklace," he randomly said. I looked over at my boyfriend and saw that he was chasing the flying lemur around the tea shop. In the lemur's feet was Aang's air temple necklace. And a few seconds later Momo just dropped the necklace in my lap. I smiled evilly to myself. It was time to have some fun.

Aang ran up to me, out of breath from chasing Momo around. He held out his hand towards me.

"Can I…have that back…please?" He asked in between breaths. My smile never left my face.

"Zuko," I whispered. He instantly knew what I was planning. He nodded and stood up. I watched him walk over to the other side of the room and hold his hands up in the air.

"Katara?" Aang said.

"Catch!" I yelled. I stood up and threw the necklace over to Zuko, who carefully caught it in his hands.

"Hey!" Aang yelled. But I could hear a small laugh in his voice. He ran over to Zuko and got to him right after the young Fire Lord threw it back over to me. I caught it and held it above my head. Aang ran back over to me and just when he was about to swipe it away from me Momo came by and picked it up in his feet again. He flew all around the tea shop, followed by a laughing Avatar. I was laughing and watching the show go on. And out of the corner of my eye I saw Zuko looking at me, laughing too. I didn't look directly back at him; it would cause him to look away. But I couldn't help but keep looking at him out of the corner of my eye.

Momo flew over me at that time and then over in the middle of Zuko and I. And then he dropped the necklace. I knew how important and fragile that necklace was, so I ran forward to catch it. But I didn't notice Zuko had ran to catch it too until he crashed into me. I fell backwards onto the ground and before I could do anything the young Fire Lord fell on top of me. His face was just inches from mine as we stared into each other's eyes. Then we started laughing. I wanted so hard to lean up and lay a gentle kiss on his lips, but I resisted.

"You guys?" Aang's voice startled me a little. "Are you ok? Katara? Zuko? Guys?"

"We're fine, Aang," Zuko answered.

"Well in that case…" And then Zuko was literally on top of me. I soon found out that Aang had jumped on top of Zuko, pushing the Fire Lord down on top of me.

"Aang…can't breathe," I rasped. But my voice was so quiet and small that I could barely hear it myself. But someone else did.

"Neither…can…I," Zuko replied. I laughed, which was extremely difficult and painful with two boys piled on top of me.

"Everyone, I have some disturbing news for all of you." I stopped laughing when I heard Zuko's uncle speak. A second later I didn't feel so squished down; Aang had gotten off the pile. And then Zuko was off too in a few more seconds. He held his hand down to me and I gladly took it. He pulled me back up to my feet and I smoothed out my green Earth Kingdom dress.

"Thanks," I said, feeling my cheeks warming up.

"You're welcome," he responded with a smile. Then he turned to look at his uncle.

"What's the news?" He asked him. Iroh looked to the ground and sighed.

"I'm afraid…that Azula has escaped from prison." Everyone's newly shocked expressions showed how they reacted to the news.

"What?" Zuko shrieked. "How?" Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Mai joined us then.

"What's going on?" Sokka asked.

"How could Azula escape from prison?!" Zuko asked his uncle.

"Now I know," Sokka said, waving his hand towards Zuko.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that when the guards went in to give her something to eat there was a huge hole in her cell and she wasn't there anymore."

"This can't be happening. She's probably going to break Dad out of prison too in a matter of time."

"The guards that patrol his prison are on high alert and already know to guard his cell very carefully."

"I wish I knew how she got out."

"Hm, I wonder," Mai said. I saw Zuko shoot her a deathly glare. "Well it's really not that hard to figure out. The Avatar took away Ozai's Firebending, not Azula's." Zuko looked back over at Aang.

"That was a huge mistake," he said to the young Avatar. Aang looked to the ground and I put my arm around his shoulders.

"It's not Aang's fault," I told him. "He wasn't there when you and I took her to prison. He wasn't there when I chained her up or anything. If anybody's fault, it's ours." He stared at me, but then sighed.

"I guess you're right. That means that we should be the ones who go out to find her and put her back in prison." I looked into his golden eyes and smiled.

"That would probably be best," I agreed. Aang escaped from my arm and stared at me.

"No!" He yelled. "I don't want you getting hurt!"

"I didn't get hurt when Zuko and I went to fight Azula during the comet! Come on Aang, be reasonable. You know I can do this. I'm not the helpless little girl when I found you in the iceberg a year ago."

"Katara…"

"I'm going to do this Aang. I haven't had an adventure in a month. I need to get back out there."

"And what about the rest of us?" Sokka asked. "Do you expect us to just stay here and do nothing?"

"That would be best."

"But…Katara…"

"Sokka, please." I gave him the best smile I could manage, and it eventually won him over.

"Alright. But please, Katara, be careful."

"I will." I hugged him tightly and he wrapped his arms back around me.

"We'll leave tomorrow at dawn," Zuko announced. "We better get plenty of rest tonight."

"I guess." I turned back to Aang. "I'm sorry Aang. But I have to do this."

"I know you do. And I have faith in you and Zuko. Promise me you'll come back alright."

"I promise. Can we save this teary goodbye for tomorrow morning? Please?" He nodded, but instantly wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear, "I love you."

"I know you do," I whispered back. Then I escaped his grasp and walked away from the group. I had a long journey ahead of me…and with Zuko.

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I update almost every day because there's nothing else to do so I don't think you have anything to worry about there. But if you still really want me t update soon still feel free to tell me so in a review, which are still very appreciated by the way! Thanks!**

**-Taylor**


	4. Our Descent

**Chapter Four**

Morning came sooner than I thought it would. I was both nervous and excited for mine and Zuko's adventure. I hope he was just as excited.

I tiptoed around the large Earth Kingdom house. Aang, Toph, Sokka, Suki, and I all had decided to stay in this house after Zuko had been crowned Fire Lord. And he and his uncle had been given a large house (I preferred to call it a palace since it was so big) and they had been living there for a while. I had already said goodbye and everything to Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Momo last night. But Aang had said that he wanted to wait until I actually left to say goodbye. So I was expecting to see him any second.

I slid the front door open easily, stepping outside into the cool morning air. It was foggy out so I knew it was going to be a cold day. And I was guessing we were going to get some rain. Possibly.

I closed the door behind me and walked over to the side of the house where Appa was still sleeping. The large bison lied on his back with his big, beaver-like tail held in his six gigantic feet. I put my thumb and my middle finger of my right hand in my mouth and quietly whistled. The large animal's brown eyes opened slowly and he looked at me.

"Come on, Appa. It's time to go and get Zuko and leave," I whispered. Appa released his tail and rolled over onto his feet. I could tell he was still really tired and didn't want to do anything yet. But I climbed on top of his furry head and grabbed the leather reins. I lead him to the front on the house and I saw Zuko sitting on the stairs leading up to the front porch. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. I didn't try to sound rude, but I knew it came out that way. "I mean, why are you here?" It still came out rudely. "I mean-"

"Katara, stop." I immediately shut my mouth. "I got up really early this morning and had nothing else to do. So I got ready and decided to walk down here. Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all," I said, shaking my head side to side. My head stopped moving when I saw Aang step out of the house. Dammit. I was actually starting to think he wasn't going to get up early enough.

"Oh, hey Aang," I said. He closed the door and walked to the top of the stairs.

"I thought you were gonna' go pick Zuko up," he said, looking at the Fire Lord. Zuko stood up and looked back at Aang.

"Yeah, well I decided to come here instead. It kinda' saved Katara the time." I smiled.

"Oh, well, that was thoughtful of you. I guess," Aang said. Zuko turned back towards me and Appa and that was the first time I realized what he was wearing. He was wearing the same outfit he had been wearing when he joined our group at the Western Air Temple about two and a half months ago. That seemed so long ago. I noticed he had gotten the middle fixed from when he was shot by Azula's lightning a month ago. It looked as if that had never happened. Which I wish it hadn't.

"I guess we should get going," he said to me. He climbed up Appa's side and into the large saddle on the bison's back. I looked down at Aang.

"I'll be fine," I assured him. "Trust me." He still looked up at me sadly. I sighed and jumped down to the ground. I walked up the steps and wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace.

"I know you will. But you have to promise."

"My word is my promise." I heard Zuko clear his throat irritatingly behind me, and I knew he wanted me to hurry up.

_Don't worry, Zuko. I'm trying, I'm trying,_ I thought. I ended our hug and placed a small kiss on the avatar's lips. Then I turned around and ran down the steps. I hooked my hands around Appa's horn and pulled myself back onto his head. I took one last look at Aang before looking back in front of me and yelled, "Yip, yip!" At the sound of my words Appa grunted lightly and pushed off the ground and into the air. I could feel Aang's stare on Appa, but I tried to ignore it. I was alone with Zuko, just like when he took me to see the man who had killed my mother. And I was happy because of it.

"So, how exactly are we supposed to find Azula?" We had been flying for hours with not even a clue as of where Zuko's evil little sister was.

"Just look for any trouble anywhere. Either that or blue fire or lightning," Zuko answered. "It won't be that hard. I hope." I don't think he wanted me to hear those last two words because his voice dropped when he said them. But I did hear them, and it made me look down to the ground far below us. I don't even know why it did.

"Zuko, why was your sister…I don't know…crazy, at the Fire Nation Palace during the comet a month ago?" It was a random question, I knew it was. But I wanted to know what the heck had been wrong with her.

"I don't know," he replied. "I really don't know. My best guess is that it had something to do with Mai and Ty Lee but that's just a guess."

"Oh. Ok."

"Why?"

"Just wondering." It was quiet between us for a few seconds.

"I know she's a little devil, but I felt sorry for her when I saw her like that after you chained her up. I was…sad inside of me."

"You weren't the only one. It actually kind of freaked me out a little. Of course, your sister freaks me out a lot but…she was just at the top of her game then."

"Yeah…she's a pain."

"And a dangerous one at that," I added.

"That's why we have to find her as soon as possible. To make sure she doesn't hurt anybody, including herself." I looked back down at the ground as the silence returned. The fog had actually disappeared about an hour ago, but the sky was still a dull grey color.

"Katara…" His voice startled me a little.

"Huh?"

"I…it…do you…never mind." I raised an eyebrow as I turned around and looked at him.

"What was that about?" I asked him.

"I said never mind!" I held my hands up in surrender and turned back around to face forward.

"I know, I know," I said. "Just wondering." I reached for the reins but didn't get to grab them because of a blast of blue fire. It barely missed Appa but still made the large animal turn slightly, and because I wasn't holding onto anything, I fell off the side of his head and down towards the ground.

"Katara!" I heard Zuko yell.

"Help!" I screamed as I plunged to my death.

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**Cliffhanger! I hope you liked the chapter and please review! Thank you!**

**-Taylor**


	5. The Nightmare

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so freaking long since I've updated. I've been really busy. But I managed to update again. So here you all go!**

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Chapter Five

My eyes started to tear up as the air blew into them as I fell closer and closer to the ground. I wasn't screaming like some other girl would be. I was scared, I won't deny that, but I wasn't scared enough to scream. But once multiple blasts of blue fire started to fly at me, I let a small scream slip out of my mouth. I remembered a technique that another Southern waterbender showed me a long time ago. I hated to use her techniques but it was the only option right now. I waved my hand into the air and pulled the water from the air. I pulled out enough to make a big shield of water around me. A blue fire blast hit the shield and had no effect. Another one hit it with the same results. And then a whole storm of them flew towards me, hitting the shield with large amounts of force. It was hard enough to just hold the shield together but now, it felt impossible. So I eventually just let it go. The shield came down and used the water to hit the blasts instead. I heard Appa's grunt and I looked down to see the large animal flying up towards me, and Zuko was standing in the saddle. I held my hand out as he did also, and he grabbed mine as I grabbed his. He pulled me into the saddle and placed me on the ground. Then he started firing blasts of red and orange fire down towards the ground. After a few seconds the blue fire blasts stopped and so did he. He leaned down next to me.

"Are you alright?" He asked. I was scared, tired, and wet from my shield falling all over me. But I couldn't let him know all that.

"Just great," I answered quickly. "I'm a little tired though."

"Ok. I'll direct Appa, and you can stay here and rest." He smiled and it sent a chill down my spine. But it was a good chill.

"Ok," I agreed. He stood up and looked over the edge of the saddle one last time before walking over to the front of the saddle, climbing over it, and sliding down onto Appa's head. I lied there in the saddle, staring up at the grey sky, my eyes threatening to close at any second. That experience I just went through was nothing compared to future and past events. But I didn't get to think about anything anymore, because my eyes closed and I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I woke up a while later and I noticed that the sun was now out and bright. I shielded my eyes with my hand and sat up in the saddle. I looked toward the front and saw that Zuko was still steering Appa. I smiled as his long black hair blew in the afternoon breeze.

"I think I can take over now," I told him. I saw his shoulders rise a little, and I knew I had scared him.

"You're up," he stated, not turning to face me.

"Yeah…" I answered.

"Did you sleep well?" He was starting to sound like a robot.

"I slept fine. Did anything happen while I was out?"

"No." It was a stern answer, and he almost sounded angry when he said it.

"Are you ok?" I asked him.

"Just…fine," he replied, making a small break in between the words. I raised an eyebrow and walked over to the front of the saddle. I hopped over the top and slid down next to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he said. I noticed that his teeth were clenched. I looked away when I spoke next.

"You're angry," I said.

"Maybe just a little," he agreed. I still wasn't looking at him but I could tell that his teeth hadn't unclenched yet. I turned my gaze back over to him. He hesitated before answering.

"My sister," was all he said. His teeth finally unclenched and his eyes closed. "She nearly killed you."

"She's nearly killed me before. Actually" –I turned away from him- "you _and_ her have nearly killed me before." My eyes wandered back to his face and I saw his eyes widen slightly as he remembered the fight him, Azula, Aang, and I had had back in Ba Sing Se.

"That was a mistake," he finally responded, his eyes going back to their normal size.

"Of course. How could I forget?" His eyes instantly widened angrily again. He jerked his head to the side and stared at me angrily.

"Are you implying something?!" He screamed at me.

"No, not at all!"

"Well it sounded like it!"

"Doesn't mean it was! Geez, you are out of it!" It was killing me inside to say this stuff and yell at him. But he was not about to win this battle. He looked right into his golden eyes as he stared right back into my blue ones. Just then they squeezed closed angrily and his head turned slightly toward the saddle.

"I'm going to go rest my head. You can steer Aang's stupid bison." He threw the brown leather reins into my hands and stood up.

"Appa isn't the stupid one around here," I muttered, looking out in front of us. I saw him hesitate out of the corner of my eye, then begin to walk back towards the saddle. As soon as I heard him lay down in the saddle, my eyes weakened and rested from their angry position.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to myself. I planned on saying it to him later. I wouldn't forget, because I couldn't live with us in a fight forever. So as we flew through the air I kept thinking of the right way to apologize. But all my ideas sounded so pathetic in my mind that I couldn't bear to say them out loud. This was going to be harder than I thought.

It was night before I knew it. There were no clouds so all the stars were shining bright. I looked up with my tired eyes and saw a particular star shoot across the night sky with a tail like fire. I closed my eyes and made a wish, as you were supposed to do when you saw a shooting star.

_I wish it will all work out between Zuko and I. Everything. Not just the makeup for the fight but…everything._

My eyes slid open again, even though they didn't want to. I watched the star disappear, and then looked forward again. I wanted to wake Zuko up and let him steer again, but I didn't want to anger him some more. So I forced my eyes to stay open and I continued to steer the giant animal.

Just a few minutes later was when I slipped out of it. Everything disappeared and was replaced by pure darkness. The last thing I saw was a dark hand reach out from behind me…

And now I was in a dream.

_I was falling. Again, it was through the air. But when I tried to bend the water out of it, nothing happened. It was dry air._

"_Zuko!" I screamed. But then I landed on the ground on my feet, no damage done. I looked around and noticed that I was surrounded by green crystals. It took a minute for the scene to settle in but I soon realized that I was in the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se. In the exact room where the giant fight had taken place. I saw Azula standing in front of me with her trademark evil grin on her face. I raised my arms, narrowed my eyes, and prepared for a fight. But she merely stepped aside, and my eyes widened when I saw who was standing behind her._

_Zuko._

"_Zuko!" I yelled. A smile ended up on my face and I relaxed my arms and eyes. But his face stayed an angry expression._

"_Katara…" he said. It sent a chill down my spine whenever he said my name. But then he raised his arms into a fighting pose. And then he ripped them down through the air and two giant strings of fire appeared._

"_I've always hated you," he stated. And then he fired the two fire strings at me. Everything was engulfed in red and orange as the blasts collided into me._

I woke screaming and a cold sweat was running down my forehead. I quickly looked around me and realized that I was in the saddle. And then I saw Zuko up on Appa's head, steering. I stood up and walked over to the front of the saddle, hopped over it, and slid down next to him. It was awkward at first, until I spoke.

"Do you hate me?" I asked him. He turned his head and looked at me skeptically.

"What kind of a question is that?" He asked.

"Just answer it," I ordered. He sighed.

"Of course I don't hate you," he responded. I let a huge breath of air out of my lungs. "I never have and never will. You kind of irritated me when I used to chase you guys around the world. But I never hated you." That information made me feel even better.

"That's good," I breathed.

"Now tell me," he started. "Why did you ask me such a weird and random question like that?"

"Because I just a dream while I was sleeping. Actually it was more of a nightmare, really. Anyway, I was falling again, through the air, but the air was dry…"

I told him everything. He nodded at places and actually shuddered when I told him about the part when he said "I've always hated you" to me. The nightmare hadn't actually been a very long one, but it took a little while to describe it to him. When I was finished he had a blank expression on his face.

"I have one thing to say," he said.

"And…?"

"You're crazy." My mouth fell open as he turned to look ahead again.

"What?" A crooked smile played across his lips and I instantly knew that he was joking. I punched him playfully in the arm and heard him let out a small giggle.

"You are a bit crazy," he admitted. I balled my hand into a fist and got ready to punch him again. "But who isn't in this world?" My arm lowered and my hand unclenched from a fist. I relaxed and looked ahead of us.

"Yeah, I guess," I agreed. I leaned over and placed my head on his shoulder. And surprisingly, he didn't shrug me off. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment while we continued to soar through the air.

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**There's another chapter for you! Hope you enjoyed it. Please review!**

**-Taylor**

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	6. Captured

**Hey everybody! Sorry it's been a little while since I've updated. I've been busy preparing stuff for today. It's my birthday today! I'm so excited! So I'm going to be gone, like, all day with my family so I wanted to update really quick. So, here you all go! I hope you enjoy it!**

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**Chapter Six**

I had accidentally fallen asleep on Zuko's shoulder. I hadn't tried to but I just slipped into it. But now I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes sleepily and looked around.

"Katara!"

"Ah! Am I falling again?"

"No."

"Oh."

"I think I found Azula." I looked over at his beautiful face, his golden eyes.

"Didn't we already find her earlier, or yesterday I guess, when she shot us with fire?" I asked him.

"No. Well, yes. But no. She kinda' found us. But look." He pointed his finger down towards the ground and I followed its pointing direction. My eyes widened at what I saw.

It was a huge, square-shaped building. But it wasn't huge as in reach for the sky height, it was wide and took up a lot of ground. It had only one floor by the look of it and it was made out of trees and vines and other plants probably out of the forest right next to it. And constructed on the roof, that was made from bamboo branches, was a giant Fire Nation insignia made out of tree roots, vines, and it looked like tree bark from where we were. It was definitely Azula's hiding place.

"Wow," I said, awestruck. "Your sister can build."

"Never underestimate her," Zuko sighed. I looked over at him again.

"Where are we going land Appa?" I asked.

"In the forest."

"But what if Azula goes out for more supplies for her…mansion type thing…and sees him?"

"Then that would be a problem. But I doubt Azula built that thing alone. I bet she had had help."

"From who?"

"People from the Fire Nation that might still want her to be Fire Lord and not me. Earth Kingdom people who had started to like her when she took over Ba Sing Se and ruled it for about five days before we left. Or anyone that was banished from anywhere and was just looking for a place to stay. There really are a lot of options here."

"Interesting. But I guess we have no choice. Let's land Appa in the forest." Zuko guided the large bison down towards the many trees and then into them. We flew around the forest until we found a good place to hide Appa. We tried to hide him behind trees and other things, but it didn't work out the way we wanted it to. So we just left him the way he was.

We sneaked off through the forest and made our way to the opening. There was a huge stretch of bare ground from where we were and the building.

"We're gonna' have to run as fast as we can," Zuko instructed.

"Great," I complained. "On three. One…"

"Three!" He took off and left me standing behind a large tree. Before anything else I also bolted out from behind the tree and ran behind him towards the building. He was there in a heartbeat, and I was there in a millennium. Well it seemed like it. We stood against the wall and looked around.

"Follow me," Zuko whispered. I nodded my head and quietly followed his footsteps down the wall and around the corner on the end. We suddenly saw a big flight of stairs leading up to a gigantic double door. We ran up the stairs and looked at the door. It was constructed from all vines and tree roots. The handles were also just bent vines.

"Smart," Zuko said. He reached out and grabbed the right door's handle and pulled as hard as he could. And in a few seconds, the large door creaked open just enough for us to squeeze through. We both had to pull it back shut before walking on.

I ignored all the large pillars, which were actually just large tree trunks. And the fancy chandeliers, made out of all vines. We were walking down a long hallway; the floor was made entirely of tree bark. We came to another large double door that when Zuko and I both tried to pull it open, it wouldn't budge. We stepped back and observed it.

"It must be locked," Zuko said.

"Or just really hard to open," I suggested. He looked over at me. I smiled but bended the water out from my four water pouches. I let the water cover my arms like sleeves and looked at the large door. I closed my eyes and remembered when Zuko had taken me to see the man who had killed my mother. I had used water sleeves then to knock down the door, even though the wrong man had been standing behind it. I opened my eyes and stared at the door. And then I twirled around in a small circle and fired the two water sleeves at the door with as much pressure as I could give. I heard a small cracking sound and then finally the door broke down. It fell away from us and into the next room. I bended the water back into my pouches as Zuko ran into the large room past the door. And then I heard him let out a small shriek of surprise. I ran in after him and saw that he was being held by a strong Earth Kingdom man. I started to run over to him when I also was stopped and held onto by a strong Earth Kingdom man. My arms were twisted behind my back, just as Zuko's were. I struggled and tried to free myself but it was no use. This Earth Kingdom guy was really strong!

"Well, well, well. Little Zuzu came to visit. Oh, and he brought the Water Tribe peasant with him!" I instantly recognized the voice as Azula's. The young Fire Nation princess walked out from behind a tree trunk pillar and over to us.

"It was obvious that you were coming here. Especially when I almost shot you out of the sky yesterday. I knew you were looking for me. What else would you be doing?

"So, do you like my new palace? It's nice, huh?"

"Where did you find the time to build this?" Zuko asked. "You just broke out three days ago."

"Wrong! I broke out about two and a half weeks ago. You guys just didn't get the news until just three days ago."

"The Fire Lord should get the news right away," I heard Zuko mutter to himself.

"Still," I spoke up. "Two weeks isn't long enough to be able to build this thing!"

"Apparently, it is! So I would stay quiet, peasant!" I scowled at the name she called me.

"Well? Aren't you going to kill us?" Zuko said darkly. "Isn't that what your lifelong dream has always been?"

"Oh yes. In due time I will kill the both of you. But not today. Tal Jay, Ku Nung, please take our prisoners to their cells." I tried to bend my water out of my pouch, but my arms were being too tightly held. So I let my captor, Tal Jay or Ku Nung, lead me away. But it took my a few seconds to realize that I was being lead in the opposite direction as Zuko. We were being split up.

"Zuko!" I screamed.

"Katara!" He yelled back.

"Firebend, Zuko! Do it!"

"I can't!" Before I could answer a giant hand was covering my mouth. I tried to shake it off, I even bit it, but it didn't come loose. So all my answers and words came out as little muffles as I was lead to my cell, away from Azula, away from Zuko.

"Katara!" I heard him yell once more, before I was pushed out of the room.

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**I hope you liked it. I'll update as soon as I can! Review please!**

**-Taylor**

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	7. The Talk

**Chapter Seven**

When the time came that Tal Jay or Ku Nung released my mouth we were already at an old cell. And surprisingly the bars were made out of metal, not vines or branches. My captor stuck a sliver key into the keyhole and the door squeaked open. I struggled one last time to free myself before he led me into the cell and over to back wall. He took the two chains that were hooked onto the wall and slapped them around my wrists, locking them with another key he held in his pocket. My arms were now bound above my head, and the chains were at least two feet long, so I could pull out from the wall that far until the chains wouldn't allow me to go any farther.

Tal Jay or Ku Nung (I planned on finding out later) exited my cell, closed the door behind him, and locked it. Then he walked off to the side and stood still as a statue.

_I don't need a babysitter, _I thought darkly. I pulled my arms out as far as the chains would allow, trying to break them, but I wasn't strong at all. That Earth Kingdom man could probably break out of these tiny things in a heartbeat. After about five minutes, I gave it up, knowing it was useless. I hung my head and closed my eyes. As soon as they closed, Zuko's face appeared before me. He was actually running towards me.

"Katara!" He yelled. I jerked my head up and my eyes flew open.

"Zuko!" I yelled out loud. He wasn't there. It had been in my head. But it had seemed so real. Like he had actually been there and had actually yelled my name. My guard turned his head and looked at me.

"Shut up!" He yelled at me. And then he turned back around and stared down the hallway. I thought of Zuko, wondering what happened to him. And what Azula planned on doing to us.

"_Oh yes. In due time I will kill the both of you," _she had said._ "But not today." _I felt sorry for Zuko. Being related to such a…pest. But as if she knew I was thinking about her, she came walking down the hall, a triumphant grin on her face. I saw my guard straighten up out of the corner of my eye. My real gaze belonged to Azula.

"Ku Nung, open the door for her royal highness," she said harshly to the guard. So I had ended up with Ku Nung. Great.

He obediently unlocked the cell door and let her walk in.

"Leave us alone," Azula instructed. Ku Nung nodded and walked down the hallway, away from us. I stared up at her angrily.

"At least you're on your knees in my presence," Azula mused. "That's a start."

"I'm only on my knees because your monstrous guard chained my down like this," I replied, letting acid flood into my voice.

"Really? Well you should be on your knees because you're worshipping me."

"I would never worship you," I said darkly.

"That's not very surprising. And you know, Zuzu said the exact same thing."

"You've been to Zuko already?"

"I didn't want to disappoint him. He always loves being number one." I scowled at her playful tone.

"Ok, so you have us here. What do you plan on doing to us now?" I asked.

"Exactly what I said earlier. I do remember stating that I plan on killing you both."

"Weird, that's what I remember. Except it was coming from a monster, not you. Whoops…" The playful grin on her face instantly turned to an angry scowl.

"I'd watch your little peasant mouth. Or you'll die sooner." All I could do was stare angrily at her. That grin returned to her face. "Silence…it's something I love."

"I'm sure everyone would love it if you were silenced," I said, my nose twitching in anger. "For good." Azula stared down at me angrily. I stared angrily right back up at her. Right into her bright golden eyes.

"Nobody would like it if their Fire Lord was silenced," she said after about a minute of silent staring.

"That's because Zuko is actually worth being the Fire Lord," I told her. It took a lot to keep from yelling.

"Zuko may be Fire Lord at the moment…"

"And for a _very_ long moment," I interrupted her. She scowled at me. "Oh sorry. Were you saying something?" She let out a huge breath through her nose and closed her eyes. She started over when she opened them again.

"Zuko may be Fire Lord for the moment…" She paused to make sure I was listening and wasn't going to cut in again. "…but his reign will end very shortly," she finished after I had stayed silent. "Just because you two beat me in that Agni Kai a month ago…"

"You won the Agni Kai portion. I won the fight portion afterward…" I admitted, looking to the side slightly.

"Anyway…just because you two beat me and _he_ took away _my_ throne doesn't mean I wouldn't come back for it," she hissed through her teeth. I looked back up at her.

"What?" That was I could say.

"I plan to take control of the Fire Nation," she went on. "I will get my father out of prison and we will rule the world together. We will re-conquer Ba Sing Se and the North Pole. We will be sure to wipe out the South Pole, because I understand that's yours and your brother's home." My eyes narrowed and my eyebrows pulled together when I heard her say this. "Every square inch of land on this Earth will be engulfed in flame. Anybody who doesn't bow down to worship my father and I will be killed on the spot. And I do recall you saying 'I will never worship you' earlier. Well your life will be ended in a very short time. But I will make it as slow and painful as I possibly can."

"How do you plan on taking over the Fire Nation? If anybody sees you they'll have you thrown back in prison. Back to the Boiling Rock where you belong."

"That's none of _your_ business, peasant!" She spat at me. I smirked.

"You don't have a plan yet, do you?"

"Of course I do! I always do!"

"Right…" I breathed. She bent down so her face was level with mine. She stuck her index finger and middle finger up right in front of my face.

"Put down your index finger and it'll actually piss me off," I told her with a smirk. But all she did was glare at me and keep both of those fingers up. They looked as if they were glued together. Than, out of nowhere, a blue flame ripped through the air and levitated above her two fingers. I could feel its heat on my skin, the blue glow on my face, in my eyes. My small smirk instantly disappeared.

"If you don't watch yourself things could happen to you," she whispered. I swallowed hard but restrained to make it loud. I stared at the blue flame. Then, as sudden as it had come into view, it vanished and the teenage girl stood up. She still stared down at me with narrowed eyes as she placed her hands behind her back.

"Bad things," she stated. I stared up at her with horror in my eyes. Then she turned around and walked out of the cell. And out of nowhere Ku Nung was there, closing the door and locking it. He went to stand at his earlier position. I watched Azula walk down the hall, away from me. But before she was out of my sight she turned back around and looked at me. She walked back up to my cell door and stared at me before speaking her words.

"And that little statement goes for you and little Zuzu," she said darkly.

"_Little?_" I shrieked. "He's older than you! He's your _older_ brother!"

"Yes, but soon…I won't have a brother of any kind." I gasped at that statement. She smiled sinisterly at my sudden intake of breath. And then she turned on her heels and walked down the hallway, this time until she was completely out of my sight. As soon as she was, I hung my head and closed my eyes.

_Zuko, you had better have a plan, 'cause I got nothin',_ I said mentally. _Otherwise…it's all over._

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**I've been reading the Twilight books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn). I haven't read Breaking Dawn yet, I just finished Eclipse today. But anyway I saw how the author wrote when people talked like putting acid in their voice and stuff. So I decided to write a little bit like that and put some stuff like that into this chapter. I hope it's written well. And I love those books! Can't wait until I read Breaking Dawn. I'm so excited! My sister is getting it tomorrow and I get to read it after her! And…**

**Ah! I'm getting sidetracked! Those books are just too good and addicting! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review! Thanks!**

**-Taylor**


	8. The Challenge

**I am so incredibly sorry for taking this long to update again. I'm not gonna' lie and say I've been busy. I'm gonna' tell the truth and say that I haven't really wanted to update very much but suddenly I had a big urge to update so I am! So here's the chapter…**

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**Chapter Eight**

I was so…bored. I had been sitting in this cold cell all day, I didn't know exactly how long. My arms ached from being chained in such an uncomfortable position. And I yearned to see Zuko again. I missed his beautiful face, his golden eyes. My eyes started to tear up just thinking about him. I wondered if he missed me just as much as I missed him. Every now and then I would hear a faint cry of my name, but I knew that it was just my imagination getting away from me. I tried to go to sleep a couple of times, but the position I was in wouldn't let me. So I just bowed my head and closed my eyes, hoping to see his face. It didn't show up this time, but I kept my head bowed and my eyes closed just in case. But I heard a big explosion and a loud scream of anguish. I jerked my head up and my eyes open.

"What the…" I heard Ku Nung mutter outside my cell. I heard quiet footsteps walk away from my cell, and a few seconds later I heard a large bang and a low groan. Then it was completely silent. Nothing happened; nothing made a sound, so I bowed my head and closed my eyes again. About a minute later I heard my cell door creak open. My head was back up and my eyes back open in a second. I hadn't noticed with my eyes closed that all the lights had been shut off. It wasn't pitch black, but it was still pretty dark. In the faint light I could make out a figure standing over me.

My bloodcurdling scream lasted a fraction of a second, because the dark figure slapped his hand over my mouth. I struggled to shake it off but the figure leaned down next to me and just pressed their hand more firmly against my mouth.

"Are you _trying_ to get us killed?" The figure hissed quietly. My eyes immediately widened as I recognized the voice. The hand left my face and my mouth was wide open.

"Zuko?" I whispered.

"Who else?"

"Why are all the lights off?"

"So if anybody comes it'll be harder to fight us."

"Unless they turn the lights back on."

"I burned the switch. Or, er, melted it anyway." I giggled, despite our current situation. I felt so…happy. So whole. I was so happy to hear his voice again, see him again, even though I couldn't _see_ him.

"I've missed you," he said suddenly. He moved away from my front side to the chains that bound me.

"I've missed you, too," I admitted, as I felt him starting to melt the chains.

"I screamed your name a few times before I finally lost it. I almost blew this whole place up. But then I remembered that you were still in here and I gained control again." My eyes widened. So I really had heard my name being called. Oops.

"I thought that was my imagination," I told him.

"Well it wasn't. I'm guessing you heard the explosion?"

"Yeah, I did. Kinda' hard to miss it." I felt a small burning on my wrist and I let out a small yelp.

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry!" He cried quietly. The burning stopped and my left arm fell to my side. I stretched it to the side and above my head. It felt so good.

"Thanks," I said as he walked over to my other side.

"Katara…" he started, starting on the other chain.

"Yeah?" I replied, feeling a bit nervous for no reason.

"Remember when we were riding on Appa, and I started to tell you something, but I couldn't?" My eyes rolled upward in thought.

"_Katara…" His voice startled me a little._

"_Huh?"_

"_I…it…do you…never mind." I raised an eyebrow as I turned around and looked at him._

"_What was that about?" I asked him._

"_I said never mind!" I held my hands up in surrender and turned back around to face forward._

"_I know, I know," I said. "Just wondering."_

"Yeah, I remember," I answered him after the memory had come back to me.

"Well, I think you ought to know what I was trying to say." The chain broke loose then, and I started my arm dropped to my side. I turned to look at his dark figure, not bothering to stretch my arm out.

"Ok…" I said. He stood up, and then held out his dark hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet.

"I was trying to say that…Aang and you aren't working out, are you?" I let out a small breath.

"I don't know," I answered. "I mean, he really likes me, but I don't know if I really like him…" Zuko took one step closer to me and grabbed my hand. He pulled it up intertwined our fingers and pulled our hands up so they were level with my chest. I looked up to where I guessed his eyes were. Our fingers unwound from each other so our hands just sat placed together in front of my chest. And Zuko started to lean in closer to me. My heart skipped a beat.

"Katara…I…" The lights flicked on all around us, and it made both of us jump. Zuko instantly jerked his hand away and turned to face the hallway in front of my cell.

"Well, I must say it took you so much longer than I thought it would," a familiar voice mused. And then Azula walked up to my cell from the hallway on the right of my cell.

"Azula!" Zuko yelled.

"I thought you would be out of your cell in a matter of minutes. But it took you seven hours! You truly aren't as good as you think you are, Zuzu." I glanced at Zuko's face and saw his teeth clench together.

"I might not be as good as you, Azula, but who won in that Agni Kai between the two of us? Huh?"

"Actually, that would be your little friend here." Azula's menacing eyes flickered to my face for an instant, then went back to staring at Zuko.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"Katara is the one that got me chained up. Not you." Azula entered through the still-open cell door. "You just merely took the fall."

"I can beat you any time! By myself!"

"Zuko!" I whispered fearfully.

"Any time you say? How about right now?" I looked at Zuko's face as he answered in a strong voice.

"You're on." My eyes widened.

"Then your little peasant friend can stay here so she won't be insisted on helping you."

"No," Zuko answered darkly. "Katara comes. She _won't_ help me." I heard the strong emphasis on the word _won't_ and I sighed.

"I won't help him," I stated in a quiet voice. Azula's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Fine," she said harshly. "The peasant can come. But Ku Nung will be keeping a close eye on her."

"Fine," Zuko replied. Azula turned and exited the cell.

"This way," she said politely. "We'll be going outside for this event." She walked out of sight.

"Zuko, are you crazy?!" I asked him.

"I can take her," he answered.

"That's what you said last time! And you nearly got killed!"

"Katara, trust me! I can do this!"

"Zuko-" But he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulled me close to his side, and led me out of the cell and after Azula.

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**Hope you liked the chapter! I will update sooner than I did this time. I promise. And I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween last night! I know I did! Even though my high-heel boots killed my feet.**

**Please review!**

**-Taylor**


	9. Agni Kai

**Hey everybody! Sorry for the little wait there. I've been a bit busy lately, and that's actually the truth.**

**Thank you to PurplexPenguin for getting me motivated to continue with this story. Thanks a lot, Beth! I love you! XD**

**Thanks to all you reviewers that I don't know personally as well!**

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**Chapter Nine**

I was forced to stand off to the side, right in between Ku Nung and Tal Jay. They both stood stick-straight with their hands behind their backs. Their chests stuck out as if something inside them was pushing hard on them, trying to break out.

Zuko and Azula were on opposite ends of a large rectangular field. Tall trees bordered the field, caging us all in.

The two siblings were kneeled down on one knee and were facing away from one another. My eyes were focused on Zuko's kneeling body, and I suddenly got the flashback image of when he and Azula had faced off in the Fire Nation palace courtyard. They were both posed exactly the same way, but the sky had been a deep shade of red, not a light blue.

What tore me out of the horrible scene was the movement of Zuko standing up. I looked down the field and saw Azula already standing and facing her brother. An evil smile formed across her lips as Zuko turned to face her.

"There's still time to back out!" she yelled down the field at him.

"Well feel free," he replied. He didn't yell, but he still spoke loud enough for her to hear him.

I sneakily waved my hand through the air down by my side in one swift movement. I heard the swish of as the water in my pouch moved around. I smiled as I stilled my hand and the water. If it even _looked_ as if Zuko would lose or get hurt, I would intervene and prevent it from happening. My two bodyguards didn't stand too close to me; it wouldn't be that hard to get past them and out onto the field.

"At your ready," Azula stated, holding her arms up, ready to fight.

"The rule usually is ladies first," Zuko responded, not moving his arms up from his sides. He looked very calm and relaxed, as if nothing at all was going on.

"Oh, aren't you so polite?" Azula sneered mockingly.

"I'm…I'm working on it," he told her. "But you don't seem to be at all."

"I never was the polite type."

"Ain't that the truth…" I muttered under my breath.

"Let's just go at it," Zuko stated, finally bringing his arms up in a fighting position.

"Gladly," Azula replied darkly. Her smile widened and became more menacing. A shadow suddenly drifted overhead, and I looked up to see what was causing it. It was a large gray cloud. I jerked my head towards the horizon, and saw a whole army of gray clouds heading right in our direction.

Well, of course, every great fight had to have a dramatic rain storm.

What made me look away from the clouds was the sudden, bright blue light that shone out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head back to the field and saw a wall of blue fire shooting from Azula's fingertips. Zuko had his own orange wall of flame blocking her blue one, and I sighed in relief.

And then, as the two siblings killed their walls of fire and shot new blasts at each other which collided with each other, I realized that I wouldn't even need the water in my pouch. The rain from the oncoming storm would supply me with plenty. I sighed again and looked up at the clouds. They were much closer than they had been a minute ago, and I was actually hoping they would get here in the next second. They were actually already pretty close…

I turned my head to see if either Ku Nung or Tal Jay were looking, caught a glimpse of Zuko running toward Azula with fire trailing behind his open hands, and then took one tiny step backwards. To my intense relief, neither Ku Nung nor Tal Jay took even a small notice. I took a few more small steps back, and then turned to face the oncoming clouds.

"Hold still, Zuzu!" Azula screamed in a hysterical voice. "This won't hurt at all!"

So, she was still crazy in the head. Fantastic.

I raised my arms towards the clouds, opening them as wide as they would, and focused all my energy on the clouds. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and concentrated as hard as I could. And then, in one abrupt movement, I pulled my hands back toward me, closing them into fists in the process. I opened my eyes again to see the clouds suddenly take a jerk in our direction. I smiled, and repeated my action until the clouds weren't very far away at all. They could travel the rest of the way without my help.

I quietly stepped back to my place between Ku Nung and Tal Jay and watched as Azula took a small blast of Zuko's fire. I felt like cheering for him, but held back.

I almost jumped in happiness when I felt the first raindrop drizzle down my forehead.

I looked up and saw that the clouds had blotched out every bit of blue sky there had been. I smiled in an evil sort of way as I looked back out at the playing field. I would have plenty of water to help Zuko if he needed it, and knowing him, he probably would.

At the first streak of lightening, my smile vanished.

How could I be so dumb? I had forgotten all about the lightening! I had forgotten all about Azula's ability to manipulate lightening! Damn it!

She could make lightening on her own, I knew that, but the lightening from this storm would just make hers more powerful. Oh, thanks goodness there would rain for me to use. And then I also had that water in my pouch from when the raining stopped…

Azula let out an evil laugh, but what truly broke me out of my thoughts was the scream of pain that ripped from Zuko's throat.

I looked down the field and saw Zuko doubled over on the ground, a hole ripped in his sleeve. He was clutching the exposed part of his skin with a tight grip and I could see his eyes were shut tightly and his teeth were gritted together in pain.

"Oh, come on, little Zuzu!" Azula tormented him. "You're not tired yet, are you?"

Zuko suddenly pushed himself off the ground and threw his hand away from his exposed skin. I gasped quietly when I noticed the burn on his arm, blood oozing slowly out of it and down under his sleeve, and then out again and down the rest of his arm, finally dripping from the ends of his fingers.

I wanted to run over to him and heal the wound immediately, but I forced myself to stay where I was.

The rain was pouring now, and it only made the blood flow faster down his arm. It didn't wash it away like people would expect it to. It kind of sickened me a little bit.

"You're not gonna' let a little rain slow you down, are you?" Azula asked him. I looked at his face, and saw obvious pain when he tried to lift his burnt arm.

"No, Zuko! Don't-"

I was cut off by the loudest crack of thunder I had ever heard. I threw my arms over my head as a reflex, though I knew thunder couldn't hurt me. I opened my eyes, which I closed when I had thrown my hands over my head, and looked out at Zuko. He was staring over at me, his golden eyes full of worry and pain. But as soon as his eyes met mine, he looked abruptly back to his sister.

"Come on, Azula!" he called. "You're not gonna' let a little thunder hold you back, are you?"

She smiled evilly, revealing all of her perfectly white teeth, and then held both of her hands up towards the sky. Her index and middle fingers pointed up toward the cloud-infested sky, and the rest of her fingers were bent inward.

Oh, no.

Out of nowhere, a huge streak of yellow lightening bolted out of the sky and down toward her. As soon as it hit her fingers, it turned to the color blue. I watched in horror as she lowered her right arm and pointed index and middle fingers toward Zuko. The lightening followed her arm and, as she gave the movement, the lightening shot out of her fingers straight toward Zuko.

"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Zuko however, merely stuck out both his own arms, his fingers in the same position as Azula's, and caught the bolt of lightening with in. He let another scream of pain exit his mouth as he brought his arms back toward his chest, and then thrust them out in front of him again. The lightening followed suit, and shot right back at Azula. My eyes followed the lightening, and then they hit Azula's horrorstruck face. But right before the lightening hit her, she jumped out the way. The lightening crashed into the ground and a large cloud of smoke and dust ensued. I couldn't see anything out on the field…or anyone.

"Zuko!" I called.

"Shut up, peasant," Ku Nung muttered, and gave me a quick shove in my stomach with his elbow. I grabbed my stomach and searched for the air that I had just lost. I recovered in a minute, and right as I did, the cloud that covered the field was gone. My eyes searched or him, and what they found was him standing weakly in the very spot he had been for the past seven minutes. He was breathing heavily and looked as if he was going to collapse at any moment. His hair was soaking wet and hanging down into his exhausted topaz eyes.

Unwillingly, I tore my eyes away from him and looked down the field for Azula. There she was, hunched over in anger, but looking down the field at Zuko through her long, black eyelashes. She, too, looked very exhausted and was breathing very heavily.

"Impressive," she breathed loud enough for even him to hear. "Very impressive."

"I've been practicing," he replied. His voice was hoarse.

"It seems you've been practicing at a lot of things. Trying to get better to impress your new little friends."

She shot a hateful glare at me, and then turned her stare back to Zuko.

"I'm sorry your new skills aren't impressive enough for me to give you mercy…"

She lifted her arms again, ready to fight, though I could see that she really didn't want to.

"Who said I wanted any of your damn mercy?" Zuko spat at her.

"Oh, Zuzu has some new vocabulary," Azula taunted breathlessly.

In reply Zuko merely raised his arms, ready to fight. Azula smiled, and Zuko scowled.

"Stop this foolishness right now!"

Everyone was quiet. My head turned slowly to the direction where the shrill voice had come from, and so did Ku Nung's and Tal Jay's. Azula's eyes widened, and when Zuko turned around so did his. We all stared at the lone figure at the end of the field. No one spoke, so the stranger decided to.

"Is this _really_ how two siblings should behave?"

It was a women's voice, and it sounded kind. Motherly even. I was surprised when Zuko spoke back to the stranger. He really didn't speak, though; it was more of a croak. And he only said one word...

"Mother?"

* * *

**Oooo, cliffhanger! Dun, dun, dun!**

**I hope you liked the chapter. I have to admit it was really hard to write a fight like this one. It may seem easy but really, it was very hard!**

**Please review! XD**

**-Taylor**


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